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Photo by http://fletchermotorsports.smugmug.com/
Andy Gregg sits third in ASCS NW points after opening weekend
By Gary Thomas
Medford, OR – May 13, 2009…Heading North to compete with Bullet Motorsports at the Southern Oregon Speedway this past weekend Placerville, CA's Andy Gregg proceeded to put together a consistent outing, highlighted by a runner-up finish on Friday night.
The double-header event at the Southern Oregon Speedway marked the season opener for the ASCS Northwest Series tour and was the second time this season that Gregg has competed aboard the Bullet Racing, Ervin Sales, M&M Structures No. 53 sprinter.
In the past the Placerville driver has had success at the Medford track having won his very first sprint car main event at the 1/3 mile clay oval in 2004. So far this season Gregg has been strong each time he has hit the racetrack and continued his early season consistency during this most recent weekend.
The ASCS Northwest Region Series utilizes the passing points format like other ASCS tours across the country and Gregg opened up the weekend by tallying a fourth place finish in his heat race. The Southern Oregon Speedway was very hooked-up on Friday evening with ruts in various areas forcing drivers to get up on the wheel, yet be smooth at the same time. Gregg lined-up ninth on the grid and did a great job to carve his way forward for a runner-up finish in the main event.
On Saturday the Placerville racer started from the pole in his heat race and had no troubles as he held off Roger Crockett to claim victory in the 10 lap contest. It put Gregg on the inside of the fourth row in 30 lap feature and he immediately moved forward to battle within the top five, until contact with another car knocked the front wing off and cost him a number of spots. He was able to regroup however, and move forward to cross the stripe in seventh at the finish, but was bumped up to sixth after the winner was dq'd for an illegal nose wing.
After the opening weekend Gregg ranks third in the ASCS NW Region points and was happy with how things went. "We were really good all weekend long and it was a lot of fun to come up here and race," he said. "On Friday night the track was pretty rough and treacherous so to get a second behind Crockett was pretty awesome. Then on Saturday I thought we might have had another shot at a podium until we got together with another car and lost some spots, but overall I can't complain with how the weekend went."
Gregg also wanted to give much appreciation for being able to compete with the Bullet Racing team over the weekend. "I just can't thank car owner Brett Ervin and the whole Bullet Racing team enough for giving me an opportunity to come up here and race this weekend," said Gregg, who sits just four points out of the lead in the ASCS NW Region standings. "I want to thank all the sponsors and people who help out on this team because I had a great time in Medford and look forward to working with them again in the future."
This Friday night will see Gregg hop back behind the wheel of his Guts Racing No. 16x machine for the first time in a month as he makes the drive up to Chico to compete in the sixth Feather Falls Casino 410 point race at the Silver Dollar Speedway. It will mark his first outing of the year at the quarter-mile bullring and he'll look to continue his early season success in the 410, which includes a pair of top five finishes with the Golden State Challenge Series. On Saturday Gregg will then take the night off to celebrate his sixth wedding anniversary with wife Lynde.
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Placerville's Andy Gregg drove the Bullet Racing No. 53 to a runner-up finish on Friday night with the ASCS NW Region at the Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford. Photo by http://www.pitprincess.com
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